Cyber Predators

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Celebrities are not the only ones getting stalked.©


When you talk online, e-mail, or update your blog, do you ever get strange messages from people you do not know? And when they try to tell you who they are, or say that they know your friends, you chat it up with them? Did you really ever think that they could be an older man or woman, posing as a younger teenager, trying to get you to spill information about yourself? Did you ever realize that you could be stalked?

A Cyber Predator is someone who harasses and bullies another person online. This can happen anywhere. MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, blogs, message boards and instant messaging are all problematic with harassing. This page is here to inform you about cyber predators and what you can do about it

Have you ever had a conversation like this?

xCaLiBaBiix: heyyy girl.

WoahitsKELLY2: uh….hey. who is this?

xCaLiBaBiix: asl? Remember, I met you at camp at last year?

WoahitsKelly2: What’s your name? I don’t remember.

xCaLiBaBiix: It’s Jennifer, duh!

Woahitskelly2: I don’t remember. So, bye

xCaLiBaBiix: no wait…I want to talk to you.

Woahitskelly2: No! I don’t know you.

xCaLiBaBiix: I saw your profile. You like basketball? That’s my favorite sport. We should meet up sometimes and go one on one.

Woahitskelly2: Leave me alone! You don’t know me.

xCaLiBaBiix: Oh, I see you have Paris Hilton lyrics in there too. I really like her. She wore the CUTEST dress yesterday to the Grammy awards. Wasn’t it just adorable? Do you want me to send you a picture of her yesterday?

Woahitskelly2: Yeah, definitely.

xCaLiBaBiix: Did you get it?

Woahitskelly2: OMG!! That’s not a picture of Paris Hilton, it’s a sick old man!

xCaLiBaBiix: Sorry, wrong pix. That’s my dad. So, do you want to meet up at Cyburg Park in a few minutes?

Woahitskelly2: Yeah sure. What will you be wearing?

xCaLiBaBiix: an Abercrombie shirt and jean shorts.

Woahitskelly2: Okay, see you there!!!!!


We learned later that WoahitsKelly2 called the police as soon as she saw xCaLiBaBiix. She was very suspicious. They met at Cyburg Park just like the conversation said. What do you learn from this? NEVER give out personal information. But, most importantly, never talk to a stranger. If they try to talk to you, the best thing to do is to ignore them. Do not reply. If they continuously try and talk to you, tell someone (a parent, a teacher). Use good judgment. Next time, when you are online, think about what you are doing.

Are you being cyber safe?

Try taking this quiz to see if you are endangering yourself.


Question One: when someone e-mails, instant messages, or comments you online, and you don't know them, what do you do?
a) talk to them! There's no harm in getting to know someone new!!
b) ask them how you know them, and if they say something you don't remember, stop talking to them.
c) ignore them. thats the best way.
d) I have never recieved something from someone that I don't know.

Question Two: has anyone ever threatened you online?
a) yes... but you don't care, because you still become cyber-best friends.
b) yes... but i reported them and it never happened again.
c) yes... but I ignored them.
d) i have never been threatened.

Question Three: have you posted enough information about you online for someone to have a reason to contact you?
a) yes... i have a screenname, myspace account, different blogging site pages, and I update my Bebo regularly.
b) sort of... I have a screenname and myspace account.
c) i only have a screenname.
d) no. I do not have a screenname or any accounts on a site.

Question Four: This is the last question. Did this page make you feel different about anything that you have ever done/are doing?
a) no... I know that nothing that bad would ever happen to me. I am just having fun.
b) maybe... I think I am going to go and take some stuff off of the internet.
c) nothing would have happened to me anyways, I would have ignored it.
d) I did not have anything bad anyways!

Tally up your answers.
If you picked mostly a's... you are in danger! You seem to be posting information that could lead to a problem later in life. Go online and change some things, and ask this single question to yourself "am I being safe?"

If you picked mostly b's... you may be in danger, but not as in much danger as someone else may be. Look at what you have posted... is it bad? could it be harmful?

If you picked mostly c's... you choose to ignore the problem instead of making it larger. This is good. Keep doing what you are doing!!

If you picked mostly d's... you are almost as safe as you can be. Good job!!

Read these facts about cyber safety:





• Never put in your full name or any of your siblings names online. • In just 20 minutes, you can trace a person you met in a chat room. • By going to different websites and using the internet, you can find out where someone lives, what their telephone number is, and possibly what they look like. • Even if you are posting “useless” information, it can be used to track you down. • Even if you ignore the person that is trying to ask you personal questions, they can still track you down. • If you put something of you on the internet and then take it down immediately, it is still up there; people can still see them • Never give out personal information out on the internet, unless it is a locked website; which you can either tell by seeing. an “s” at the end of the “http” in the address, or if it has a locked symbol on the bottom of the screen. • There are becoming more and more ways for you to be traced on the internet everyday. • Someone that you meet online could be posing as someone else. • You can never be sure that the person on the other end is who the think they are. • Harassing on the internet could lead to differne things, including suicide. • The best way to avoid it is to not do anything; ignore the harasser. Do not say anything!!! • Even if you are not harassing someone but you know someone who is, you can be part of the problem if you do not stop it. • Blogs: do not post personal information, posting your schedule, or when you are going on vacation. • EVERYTHING IS PUBLIC! Even things that you set or do in private. • Anything you post on the internet could be used against you.

Thank you for reading our space and remember: BE SAFE!!